After a video was leaked on Tuesday evening showing No 10 staff joking about a lockdown Christmas party that Downing Street has claimed never happened, most UK newspapers have splashed on the story as the biggest of the day – with some notable exceptions.
The story’s wide impact was emphasised on Tuesday night when Ant and Dec joked about the news on I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here!, saying the show’s participants “categorically deny any suggestions that they had a party and this fictional party definitely didn’t involve cheese and wine or a secret Santa”.
The Guardian’s story says the footage, obtained by ITV, will add to calls for a formal inquiry into what happened, and notes a tweet by Dominic Cummings, a former aide to Boris Johnson, who said the prime minister lied about the party and said that doing so was “v unwise”.
Guardian front page, Wednesday 8 December 2021: PM accused of lying after No 10 team filmed joking about party pic.twitter.com/tiPnN8tfSO
— The Guardian (@guardian) December 7, 2021
The Daily Mail also splashes on the story, calling it “a sick joke” alongside three stills of Allegra Stratton, the prime minister’s then press secretary, who featured in the video of a mock press briefing.
Wednesday’s Mail: “A sick joke” #BBCPapers #TomorrowsPapersToday https://t.co/7FuHsAa3Vz pic.twitter.com/ksAE0ewAuN
— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) December 7, 2021
The Daily Mirror runs with “Another top Tory broke Covid party rules”, putting the news together with its own story about a Christmas party at the Department for Education.
Tomorrow's front page: Another top Tory broke Covid party rules https://t.co/k1EhuapvOz #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/PkStmJEtyb
— The Mirror (@DailyMirror) December 7, 2021
The Daily Telegraph – said to be the paper whose coverage most exercises Boris Johnson – is headlined “Downing St Christmas party faces police probe”. An earlier edition had led with a story about a possible Christmas work-from-home order.
📰 The front page of today's Daily Telegraph:
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) December 8, 2021
'Downing St Christmas party faces police probe'#TomorrowsPapersToday
Sign up for the Front Page newsletterhttps://t.co/x8AV4O6L2Y pic.twitter.com/l7u90By2MX
The i’s headline reads “2021: It’s beginning to look a lot like last Christmas”, putting the news together with a prediction of 80,000 cases of the Omicron and Delta variants daily by Christmas and Johnson refusing to rule out a work-from-home order.
Wednesday’s i: “2021: It's beginning to look a lot like last Christmas” #BBCPapers #TomorrowsPapersToday https://t.co/7FuHsAa3Vz pic.twitter.com/sBMdWY1QdY
— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) December 7, 2021
Metro’s pithy headline is “No.10 party clowns”. An earlier edition had run with a story about a winter care crisis.
METRO: No10 party clowns #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/Izb55ORAVS
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) December 7, 2021
The Daily Express features the story above its main headline calling on its readers to get booster jabs.
EXPRESS: We need a shot in the arm now! #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/SQTqRbqKfE
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) December 7, 2021
The story does not make the front page of the Sun, which instead accuses energy bosses of blaming the “wrong kind of wind” for power cuts. It does have a small picture story about a secret party – attended by the Rolling Stones.
Tomorrow's front page: Energy chiefs feel the heat after blaming the Storm Arwen power-cut crisis on the wrong type of wind https://t.co/jd6ZHPtWMe pic.twitter.com/duvJfzNQ93
— The Sun (@TheSun) December 7, 2021
The Times runs with a picture of Stratton but leads on a cabinet row over vaccine passports.
Wednesday’s Times: “Cabinet rift over plan for vaccine passports"#BBCPapers #TomorrowsPapersToday https://t.co/7FuHsAa3Vz pic.twitter.com/ON9JrH58so
— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) December 7, 2021
The Financial Times features the news below its lead on the situation in Ukraine. Its story is headlined “Johnson under fire as No 10 video fuels anger over alleged Christmas party”.
Wednesday’s FT: “US urges Berlin to block Russian gas line in event of Ukraine strike” #BBCPapers #TomorrowsPapersToday https://t.co/7FuHsAa3Vz pic.twitter.com/rdBLDgfaLp
— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) December 7, 2021
The Daily Star does not feature the story, instead focusing on Dominic Raab’s actions over the Afghan crisis and suggesting that the former foreign secretary is missing his brain.
STAR: @DominicRaab ‘s brain still missing #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/Yz5cbxMAG2
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) December 7, 2021
